Anyway, I just felt it appropriate to commemorate 1 year passing by writing a blog post. I figure a good old fashioned summary of what we've done so far, and what we have yet to do, is a good way to look back and simultaneously feel proud of all the work we've done and ashamed at all the work we've yet to get to. Here we go.
CHECK! Stuff We Have Done So Far:
- Paint entire main floor (living room, kitchen, stairway, upstairs hallway, dining room, entryway, hallway, etc.)
- Refinish kitchen cabinets
- Furnish living room with new coffee table, tv stand and rug.
- Paint and furnish guest bedroom
- Paint and furnish guest bathroom
- Get rid of swing set in backyard
- Furnish sun room
- Misc. decorating in living room and kitchen.
- Paint master bedroom and bathroom
- Refinish master bathroom cabinets
- Paint bedroom furniture (dresser, armoire, nightstands - somewhat in progress)
- New blinds/curtains in kitchen, living room and master bedroom
- Insulate attic fan
- Scrape/paint/caulk siding that was warped/peeling/rotting to prevent further water damage.
- Start organizational/storage systems in garage and basement bedroom
- Start compost bin
- Other misc. little furnishing/decorating items not worth detailing
Wow. That does not feel like a lot. I sat there for a good minute wracking my brain for other stuff we've accomplished, because I really felt like we've done more. I guess a lot of those things were big undertakings, so I shouldn't be too ashamed.
Our Current To-Do List: Stuff Yet to be Done
- Build and paint new bed for master bedroom
- Decorate master bedroom
- Finish painting/decorating master bathroom
- Decorate/furnish dining room (rug, curtains, new lighting, art)
- Build built-in bookcases & window seat in front sitting area/entryway
- Furnish sitting area with seating, table(s) and rug
- Create giant frame wall in front sitting area
- Continue decorating living room/entryway/stairway/upstairs hallway, etc.
- Repaint trim on main floor bright white (it's peeling and chipping in a lot of places and it's more of a creamy off-white than we want)
- Paint/furnish/decorate half-bath
- Clean out/organize garage (goal: fit both cars!!)
- Replace gravel pit in backyard (former base for swing set) with grass (and reconfigure sprinkler system as a result)
- Plant veggie garden in the raised garden bed
- Paint/furnish/organize "office" in one of the upstairs bedrooms
- Finish unpacking (yes we still have random stuff shoved into empty bedrooms that hasn't been unpacked yet. Oy.)
- Paint exterior of house
- Replace counter tops, sink, appliances and possibly cabinets(?) in kitchen
- (This one is for Phil) Replace concrete "slab" on west side of the house w/ more attractive stone and build built-in grill/outdoor kitchen system (I call bullshit on this one!)
That's about it. There are lots of other little projects around the house that I didn't figure are worth mentioning, but those are our big to-do's as it stands now.
So I guess our to-do list is quite longer than our "done" list, but I suppose that's how it goes. We knew going into it that it would be years upon years of constant updating to make the house exactly what we want, and given we both work full-time, are operating on a relatively tight budget, and both have a solid lazy streak, I guess this is about where we should be. Especially that alongside all of those little updates, we've also had to just keep up with general house-maintenance, like keeping up the yard, making small repairs here and there, etc. So all in all, one year later, our house is still standing and looking more and more like OUR house, so I'm calling it a successful first year. It will be interesting to see what I have to say about the house this time next year.
So cheers to you, first house of hours, on our first houseiversary! How far we've come since one year ago when we first hung out, drinking mimosas out of plastic cups on our first day together. Our love has only grown deeper. Here's to another fantastic year of trying not to burn you down!
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